Erfurter Malzwerke

Erfurter Malzwerke is a traditional German malting company based in Erfurt, Thuringia, whose origins date back to 1864. It operates as a GmbH and has been part of the Hamburg-based Getreide AG since 1992. The company is one of the most important suppliers to German breweries and has steadily expanded its international sales, serving customers across Europe, Asia, Africa and South America. The company produces brewing malt, a key raw material for beer. According to its official website, it produces around 200,000 tonnes of high-quality brewing malt annually. Its production capacity at the Erfurt site has grown over time, reaching approximately 120,000 tonnes per year since 2010 (up from 80,000 tonnes in 2008). The company has been regularly certified according to ISO 9001 and HACCP since 1996, and according to ISO 50001 since 2013. Erfurter Malzwerke has a long history. It was founded in 1864 by soap-maker Johann Georg Wolff as a grain trading business, J. G. Wolff & Söhne, which soon expanded into malting. After World War II, the company was expropriated and continued as VEB Erfurter Malzwerke in East Germany. Following German reunification, it was reprivatised in 1991 and taken over by Getreide AG in 1993. Since then, the company has invested heavily in modernising its Erfurt North site, including a high-performance kiln and a tower malting facility. In 2013, it began marketing malt produced by its sister company Hanse-Malz GmbH in Hamburg, and in 2017 Hanse-Malz was merged into Erfurter Malzwerke, which now operates it as a second site. Today, Erfurter Malzwerke is a reliable partner to breweries worldwide, with a focus on quality, tradition and innovation. Its historic malthouse on Thälmannstraße, which ceased production in 2000, is a listed industrial monument.

The origins of Erfurter Malzwerke date back to 1864, when soap-maker Johann Georg Wolff (1806–1888) founded a grain wholesale business in Erfurt under the name J. G. Wolff & Söhne, together with his sons Ernst Friedrich (Fritz) and Hermann. In 1869 they leased a small malthouse. A few years later they built their own new facility on Am Johannistor street (formerly Am Kochlöffel), where by 1873 they were already producing 3,000 tonnes of malt. After just three years, the building was expanded and capacity doubled to 6,000 tonnes. In 1882, a competing malthouse, J. Eisenberg & Etgersleben, was established on Roststraße near Erfurt's north railway station. In 1885, Wolff & Söhne built a new site on the then-undeveloped Moltkestraße (today Thälmannstraße), at the corner of Iderhoffstraße, erecting the first building complex (floor malting and kiln house). In 1887 the company was divided between the brothers. Fritz took over the new Moltkestraße site under the name Fritz Wolff Malzwerke Erfurt. From 1907 to 1911, Fritz Wolff was chairman of the Erfurt Chamber of Industry and Commerce and afterwards honorary president; he was also appointed Geheimer Kommerzienrat. In the 1930s, a major expansion in Expressionist style was carried out by Erfurt architect Georg Bierbaum. By 1940, Malzwolff, as the factory was known in Erfurt, was one of the most important malt factories in Germany, with an annual total production of over 300,000 hundredweight. The original floor malting, which required large storage areas and enormous physical labour, was later modernised through improved transport technology (chain and screw conveyors), the construction of silo facilities with grain post-drying, and the conversion of the kilns. Hermann Wolff continued to operate the Am Kochlöffel site with less success. After World War I, the company Hermann Wolff & Söhne was taken over in 1921 by Malzfabrik Langensalza AG and subsequently traded as Aktien-Malzfabrik Langensalza und Hermann Wolff & Söhne. In 1928, it acquired a majority stake in the local competitor Malzfabriken J. Eisenberg & Etgersleben AG on Roststraße (which had become a stock corporation in 1918) from Commerzbank and Bankhaus A. E. Wassermann for 2.4 million Reichsmarks with loans. However, the Great Depression brought the company into difficulties. In 1932, these shares were transferred back to the two banks in exchange for a waiver of claims, and an additional 1.2 million Reichsmarks in "compensation" had to be paid to the banks. In 1945, the Erfurt malt operations were expropriated, nationalised and continued under the name VEB Erfurter Malzwerke. The Roststraße site (formerly J. Eisenberg & Etgersleben AG) was modernised in the mid-1960s with the construction of a modern barley and malt silo and a production building (steeping house and germination box facility), while at the Thälmannstraße site the machines from the 1930s – after partial conversion to electric motor drive – largely remained in use until the facility was shut down in 2000. In 1991, reprivatisation took place, and in 1993 the company was taken over by Getreide AG (Hamburg). The original site Am Johannestor (formerly Am Kochlöffel) was finally abandoned and the buildings demolished. All investments were concentrated on the Erfurt North site (formerly Roststraße) to convert it into a highly modern malthouse. In this context, over 8 million DM were invested as early as 1994. The core of this investment was a two-floor high-performance kiln. The kiln building was constructed in a skeleton design with stainless steel interior cladding. Through the use of external insulation and glass tube heat exchangers, energy consumption was massively reduced. Electronic control of the production process enabled automatic loading and unloading with low energy requirements. In 2000, a further 8 million DM were invested in the planned expansion of the malthouse with the construction of a steeping, germination and kiln tower. The resulting tower malthouse was built in a compact design and designed for a batch of 240 tonnes of brewing barley. The entire production process is monitored by a computer-aided control and regulation system. On the top floor of the malt tower are four stainless steel conical steeping vessels, which are fed the sorted and cleaned brewing barley via an elevator. Three germination units, each 23 metres in diameter, are installed... Since 1996, the company has been regularly certified according to ISO 9001 and HACCP, and since 2013 according to ISO 50001. The malthouse on Thälmannstraße, which ceased production in 2000, is listed as a cultural monument due to its urban significance as an ensemble of industrial architecture and was sold in 2012. Since 2013, Erfurter Malzwerke GmbH has also marketed malt produced by its sister company Hanse-Malz GmbH in Hamburg (with a malting tower); since 2017, the Hamburg sister company has been merged into Erfurter Malzwerke GmbH and is operated as a second site. Since 2013, the international sales market has been steadily expanded, with customers including various breweries on the European, Asian, African and South American continents.

• 2017

  Hanse-Malz GmbH merged into Erfurter Malzwerke GmbH, operated as second site.

• 2013

  ISO 50001 certification; start of marketing malt from sister company Hanse-Malz GmbH; expansion of international sales.

• 2012

  Sale of the listed Thälmannstraße malthouse.

• 2010

  Production capacity reaches approx. 120,000 tonnes per year.

• 2000

  Expansion with construction of steeping, germination and kiln tower; Thälmannstraße site shut down.

• 1996

  First ISO 9001 and HACCP certification.

• 1994

  Investment of over 8 million DM in modernisation, including a two-floor high-performance kiln.

• 1993

  Takeover by Getreide AG (Hamburg).

• 1991

  Reprivatisation.

• 1945

  Expropriation and nationalisation as VEB Erfurter Malzwerke.

• 1928

  Acquisition of majority stake in competitor Malzfabriken J. Eisenberg & Etgersleben AG.

• 1921

  Hermann Wolff & Söhne taken over by Malzfabrik Langensalza AG.

• 1887

  Company divided between brothers; Fritz Wolff takes over Moltkestraße site as Fritz Wolff Malzwerke Erfurt.

• 1885

  Construction of new site on Moltkestraße (today Thälmannstraße).

• 1873

  Production of 3,000 tonnes of malt at new site Am Johannistor.

• 1869

  Lease of a small malthouse.

• 1864

  Johann Georg Wolff founds grain wholesale business J. G. Wolff & Söhne in Erfurt.

Reliable partner to breweries, producing high-quality brewing malt with a focus on tradition, quality and innovation.

• Brewing malt

  High-quality malt for beer production, produced at the Erfurt site and the Hamburg site.

1. 1Erfurter Malzwerke official websiteerfurter-malzwerke.de
2. 2Erfurter Malzwerke - Wikipedia (German)de.wikipedia.org
3. 3Erfurter Malzwerke - Wikidatawikidata.org